ISLAMABAD, May 17: New telecom policy will be presented to the cabinet for approval in the coming week, said the federal minister for information technology, Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, while speaking at a seminar, which was organized to mark the World Telecom Day here on Saturday.

“After the approval of the policy, further deregulation of telecom sector will be done”, the minister said.

He maintained that the government was optimistic about massive investment in the country with the deregulation in place. “A number of countries have already shown their interest but the government has decided to facilitate potential investors, he added.

The minister said Pakistan’s Telecommunications Network was equal to and in certain cases better than the developed countries.

Later, the minister launched TeleCard Northern Wireless Foree Fone Network. Initially, the service is being provided in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Haripur, Dina, Jhelum, Attock and other areas of the region and will be later extended to the entire country.

Earlier, the PTCL chairman, Akhtar Ahmad Bajwa, highlighted the significance of the day.

He said, the telecoms in under-developed countries were struggling to expand the reach and access of their networks.

“In the coming years, with the increased awareness of the role telecom sector in the overall development of a society, its role will be of critical importance”.

“Having a look at the current telecom scenario in Pakistan from PTCL’s perspective, I would take this opportunity to say that with the monopoly cover already off, and a deregulation policy in the pipeline, the PTCL certainly is faced with multiple challenges. On the external side, apart from the imminent competition, deregulation framework will place additional obligations on PTCL vis-a-vis the new entrants. However, PTCL is positioning itself to meet the forthcoming challenges effectively”, he said.